awanderingbard | La Chute de Reichenbach

The last of my French Sherlock rantings. This week: La Chute de Reichenbach. 'Chute' (fall) has the same double meaning in French as it does in English. It can mean a waterfall, a literal fall or a fall from grace. Also, they pronounced Reichenbach like 'ry-shen-bock', which made the Richard Brook thing work really well, as the French pronounciation (Ree-shar Bruk) is much closer to how they pronounce Reichenbach.

Maybe I've just gotten used to the voices now, but I think the doubles did a great job. I like Moriarty's voice much better this episode and John's double made me tear up, which is hard to do since I normally feel a bit disconnected from the plot when the voices don't match. I always feel like there's a distinct layering over of the voices, rather than the characters actually speaking the words. But John's double's little whimpering made my heart break a little.

Translation Notes:
- Sherlock informs Lestrade that Miss McKenzie will need 'an oxygen mask', rather than to breathe into a bag.
- He also calls Jim Molly's 'fiance', instead of ex-boyfriend.
- I was wondering how they were going to handle the IOU thing, but they just put a little subtitle translating what it meant every time it came up.
- The translation of 'the side of the angels' thing is kinda of nice in French. 'I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for a single second that you have an angel in front of you'.
- I also like that rather than calling him a machine, John tells Sherlock he doesn't have a heart. Which is a nice call back to The Great Game when it's Sherlock himself who says that he doesn't have a heart.
- For the curious (read: me) Sherlock and Moriaty call each other 'vous', which seems a little weird on Moriarty's part considering how intimate he considers himself with Sherlock. Maybe it's a sign of respect. John also calls Mycroft 'vous'.

Rewatching Notes:

I still love the handcuffed together moments. I also noticed that John has a hold of Sherlock's sleeve when they're against the wall together, which amuses me. They're joined together by metal handcuffs, but John is still obviously convinced that he's going to somehow lose track of Sherlock. Or maybe he just wants extra leverage to try and control his movement.

One thing that I've never understood: why does John go back to Baker Street when Mrs Hudson has been 'shot'? I know he needs to go there plotwise to see that she's alive and well and he's been tricked, but if she's been shot, why isn't he going to a hospital? Or does he think she's dead?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

oooh very interesting about the 'vous'

Yeah, the Mrs Hudson is shot thing didn't make a ton of sense, but it was needed for the plot and they kept the action going fast enough you don't think about it much when it happens, so it mostly worked.

Yeah, I didn't think about it until after the episode was over because everything was so intense. I suppose I could make it work in that maybe John didn't know what hospital she'd been taken to and was hoping someone would know, or that he'd been called at the same time as the ambulance and he thought he could get there before the emergency people did or something. I know it's a nod to the original story where Watson gets called back to the hotel for a patient, but it still doesn't make much sense.

honestly there was a lot that didn't make much sense in the episode, not when you really thought about it. But a good stiff chocolate and a bit of LALALALALALA and all is right with the world

I have really enjoyed your reactions to these episodes! It's been quite interesting to see the show from the fresh angle a second language can sometimes provide.

For the curious (read: me) Sherlock and Moriaty call each other 'vous', which seems a little weird on Moriarty's part considering how intimate he considers himself with Sherlock. Maybe it's a sign of respect.

I'm definitely going to agree that it's probably a sign of respect. I mean, there has to be respect there, or else Moriarty wouldn't have beaten around the bush with Sherlock and would have likely otherwise just tried to kill him outright. Moriarty calls his interactions with Sherlock a "game" of sorts, but really, they're not so much playing as they are chess pieces of equal value that have somehow managed to catch the eye of the other from across the board.

Erm...I have no idea if that made any sense. Still! Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this entry. :)

Oh, I'm glad my ramblings weren't too annoying. I am a language nerd and I love seeing how things translate into other languages. I was just reading somewhere that in Germany, they translated the nickname that Moriarty gives to Mycroft (Iceman) as the literal eissman. Which is what they call the man who sells ice cream from a truck over there. :D

I see what you're saying and I think you're right. Sherlock is special to Moriarty, so he gets respect. I do think it would be equally in character for Moriarty to use the informal, though. Or swap back and forth. Because he's sooooo changeable! :p

I also like that rather than calling him a machine, John tells Sherlock he doesn't have a heart. Which is a nice call back to The Great Game when it's Sherlock himself who says that he doesn't have a heart.

Yes, that is very interesting. I actually like that better than John calling him a machine, because it underscores the fact that John is his heart.

John going to Baker Street rather than the hospital really doesn’t make sense, you’re right. I think of it that he went there to get her some clothes or something on the way to the hospital. Or to see the scene of the crime or deal with the police there. But really it’s just to have him be there to see the assassin.

Hi ... thought I might 'leave a note' here to say thanks for the translations.

I love listening to see how the voices change when things are dubbed. So far (from what I have been able to track down) the French and the Russians seem to have done the best. The Germans, Italians and Spanish give Sherlock too high a voice and John not a distinctive enough voice. I did, however, find a Korean clip on YouTube and they seemed to have done a good job to!

I have just managed to find the French Dubbed Sherlocks and although my schoolgirl French is a bit rusty I can pick up bits here and there, especially when I know what they are supposed to be saying ;-P. (& I too thought it strange that Moriarty was calling Sherlock 'vous'). I do like the fact that although John (or should I be calling him 'Jean'? ;-P ) doesn't do his trademark repetition of exactly the same phrases as in English, there is some repetition used to give him the same rhythm of speech.

What I would really like is someone to actually type up a transcript of the rooftop scene, and John's eulogy so I can learn it. I have the English versions off pretty word-perfect, and even stood at the real grave site recently (hurried trip to Cardiff over half term ... (http://quarryquest.livejournal.com/687312.html)) and spoke the words. It would be really cool to be able to do it in French if I get chance to go back.

I wish I could help you out with the transcript. My French is good enough to understand what's being said, but not enough to transcribe the actual words and in some cases, I can't quite even figure out the original French phrases. Unfortunately, the subtitles only translate the English version, as opposed to captioning the French version. You might be able to ask around and see if there are any French fans willing to help out. Let me know if you find anyone!

I'm glad you found my ramblings interesting! :-D

La Chute de Reichenbach

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